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GFZ Geophysics Department moves into new property next to the Albert Einstein Science Park

02.05.2019

Part of the newly opened GFZ building at the Albert-Einstein-Straße 42-46 (Photo: Reinhardt & Sommer / GFZ).
Charlotte Krawczyk, Martina Münch and Reinhard Hüttl at the unveiling of the building sign (Photo: Reinhardt & Sommer / GFZ).
Celebrations to mark the opening of the new GFZ site at the Albert-Einstein-Straße 42-46 (Photo: Reinhardt & Sommer / GFZ).
Reinhard Hüttl gives a speech on the occasion of the opening of the new office buildings at the Albert-Einstein-Straße 42-46 (Photo: Reinhardt & Sommer / GFZ).

More than 120 employees move to former headquarters of the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment

After a three-year construction and renovation phase and investments totalling 3.25 million euros, a new building ensemble of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences was officially opened on 2 May 2019 on the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam. The guests at the opening ceremony included Martina Münch, Minister of Science, Research and Cultural Affairs of Brandenburg, Manja Schüle, Member of the Bundestag, Michael Koch, Member of the Landtag, and Mike Schubert, Lord Mayor of Potsdam. Six of the eight sections of the Department of Geophysics headed by Director Charlotte Krawczyk and more than 120 employees will in future be accommodated on one location close to the campus of the Albert Einstein Science Park.

"The renovation and restoration of the building complex in the Albert-Einstein-Straße will further strengthen Brandenburg as a science location. I am delighted that the Federal State has been able to support the refurbishment with around 2.5 million euros," says Münch. "With around 1,300 employees, the GFZ is not only the largest non-university research institution in our state and one of the most important employers in the region – the Helmholtz Centre with its research areas and successes enjoys an excellent reputation in fields such as geology, biology, and climate alike.”

Reinhard Hüttl, Chairman of the Board and Scientific Executive Director of GFZ, recalled the history of the building ensemble: On November 1, 1952, the part of the ensemble then known as the ‘Alfred-Wegener-Haus’ was inaugurated as the office building of the Head of the Meteorological and Hydrological Service of the GDR (MHD). As part of the reunification of Germany, the MHD merged with the Deutscher Wetterdienst DWD, the German Meteorological Office on 2 October 1990. As of December 1990, the former MHD buildings on the Telegrafenberg housed the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment. "With the new property, we have achieved several things: On the one hand, we have taken a major step towards easing space constraints at the GFZ; on the other hand, we will be able to give up the office in Potsdam's Behlertstrasse and, thus, bring our colleagues closer together," explains Reinhard Hüttl.

Charlotte Krawczyk, Director of the Department of Geophysics and ‘hostess’ of the event underlines: "The concentration on one building complex in the vicinity of the Albert Einstein Science Park campus creates a proximity that is of inestimable value. Here, people run into each other in the kitchenette or the canteen, they talk and all of a sudden a scientific discussion has started and you are right in the middle of new perspectives with questions being posed that make you think anew. This also leads to better science. I think that's great!” (ph)